Companies have slowed the pace of firings and are expanding their workforces as sales and confidence improve and the threat of financial contagion from a European default diminishes. A Labor Department report last week showed job growth in February capped the best six months since 2006.

CNN: More veterans are coming back from war and getting back to work in the civilian job force, thanks to efforts by both employers and the government, as well as the improving economy.

The jobless rate for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans has fallen to 7.6%, well below the overall U.S. unemployment rate of 8.3%, and nearly five percentage points below the 12.5% rate for veterans a year ago.

Their likely nominee isn’t much liked by the base of the party. Yet even as he loses primaries in the most conservative parts of the country, he continues to stack up delegates. He is Mitt of the Indomitable Math…. but according to some new polls, the primary season is taking a devastating toll on Romney and the Republican brand as a whole, fueling something of a surge for the president.

The findings of a Pew Research Center poll released Wednesday show that President Obama has steadily increased his lead over Mitt Romney in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup, which now stands at a whopping 12 points, 54 percent to 42 percent. These results echoed a Reuters/Ipsos poll released earlier this week that showed Obama leading Romney by 11 points, 52 percent to 41 percent. As Reuters pointed out, that is “nearly double the margin from February.”

AFP: Vice President Joe Biden will Thursday seek to set the contours of the 2012 general election, lauding President Barack Obama as a man with a “spine of steel” who fights for the middle class.

Biden will deliver the first of a series of speeches in the swing state of Ohio …. “Ours is a philosophy that values the role of workers in the success of a business, and values the middle class in the success of the economy,” Biden will say, according to excerpts of his speech released by the campaign.

“Stated simply, we’re about promoting the private sector. (Republicans) are about protecting the privileged sector. We’re a fair shot, and a fair shake. They’re about no rules, no risk. And no accountability”…

Biden will also praise Obama for rescuing the US auto industry with an unpopular $80 billion bailout opposed by many Republicans, but which has nursed the iconic sector back to health. “He said, ‘we are not going to give up on a million jobs, and the iconic industry America invented. Not without a fight’.”

“The President and I have a fundamental commitment to dealing the middle class back in to the American economy. And ultimately that’s what this election is all about. It’s about a choice. A system that trusts the workers on the line, instead of just listening to the folks in the suites. That’s a stark choice. To my mind it isn’t a choice at all.”

Michael Tomasky on Mitt’s Months of Misery in the Primaries to Come. How long can this go on? Pretty darn long. Take a look at the calendar …. He’ll have lots of time to fix things up, if he is the nominee. But think back about how your own view of Mitt Romney has changed in the last six months. Half a year ago, I’d say most people thought: successful, smooth, maybe a little too smooth, but formidable. Now? He’s a punch line. And a punching bag. And the calendar shows that he’s going to continue to be both for a while yet.

Greg Sargent: You constantly hear top Democrats and neutral commentators warning that Mitt Romney’s embrace of extreme positions on immigration have effectively dashed his hopes of making inroads among Latinos in the general election …. this sentiment is now being privately voiced to the Romney campaign by top Republicans, who worry his lurches to the right are undoing years of GOP outreach to a consistuency whose share of the vote will only grow in the years ahead.

The worry has been prompted by a recent poll showing only 14 percent of Latinos support Romney over Barack Obama…

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama talk with Prime Minister David Cameron of the United Kingdom and Mrs. Samantha Cameron on the Truman Balcony of the White House, March 14, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

****

See the rest of the sequence at Messynessychic, it’s flippin’ hilarious

I was thinking how I enjoy FLOTUS’ style. She goes for color rather than bland. I was looking at a colorful necklace in one of the many catalogs I get thinking it resembled the one she has on in the above photo. It made me think of how much better I liked it than the traditional pearl necklace.

I am sad I will not be present for the theatre screening of The Road We’ve Travelled tonight. Do we know if it will be streamed live online? I might be able to watch. That way, if I am home in time… Fingers crossed! Have a lovely day everyone! :)

Posted at 02:40 PM ET, 03/14/2012
Here we go again
By Greg Sargent
Via Pat Garofalo, Reuters reports:
Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives are ready to break a hard-fought budget deal with Democrats as they try to quell a revolt by conservatives who are insisting on deeper spending cuts ahead of the November elections.

The original August 2011 deal that resolved the debt ceiling impasse called for a $1 trillion limit on discretionary spending for fiscal 2013. House conservatives want much deeper cuts. House GOP leaders are offering a compromise that would include some cuts, but not enough for the Tea Partyers, and Dems are vowing to reject anything that breaks the original deal.

Republicans will justify breaking the deal by arguing that the original compromise only set a cap on spending, which is to say an upper limit, meaning there’s nothing preventing spending from being cut further. But Dems and the White House will argue that even Mitch McConnell himself recently acknowledged that what was actually agreed upon were “discretionary spending levels.” Eric Cantor also has described the deal as one that set a “level of spending.”

Get ready for a rerun of a very bad movie. We’re hurtling towards another government shutdown fight, in which the House GOP leadership will be dealing with a Tea Party wing that prioritizes shrinking government above all else — this time, in the leadup to the elections.

ROTFLMAO! :):) amk you’ve been asking this question every day now for the last 2 weeks! I hope you can finally get some sleep tonight – 2 weeks is just too long to go without rest. I hope Jovie pulls through for you (and us) with this badly needed info.

The UN Human Rights Council is investigating voter identification laws in the United States. While the United Nations does not have specific jurisdiction over the United States, the NAACP is making the case that voter ID laws are a form of voter suppression.

The Republican war on women continues as the Senate prepares for battle over renewal of the Violence Against Women Act. Senate Republicans fear their opposition will brand them anti-women, but they nevertheless voted unanimously against the measure in committee.

I ask this with all seriousness because I don’t understand. Why is there so much criticism and nastiness here and on other blogs of the Camerons? They have been lovely and gracious guests, and Mrs. Cameron is ridiculed for her style, and the PM is even ridiculed for the manner with which he eats a hot dog. In all due respect the “Messynessychic” piece is embarrassing. We would all be upset if the Obamas were treated in such a manner abroad. I do not ask this in a contentious way, but I would love to hear an explanation. The Camerons to not seem to me to be foes.

The hot dog thing is just a bit of fun Bill, Cameron gets teased like that all the time in the UK because of his ‘posh’ background. I have to admit, I thought it was a hoot. I think he’s a decent enough man, but as a Conservative he and his party are as much friends of the working man/woman as the Republicans, so his policies don’t do much for me.

To me it is not a question of his politics, though he supports gay marriage, supports their health care system, and is a great supporter of PBO. He does not push his religion or bash women. All unlike our horrid Republicans. He cannot help his “posh'” background anymore than JFK or any other wealthy politician. I do know if the Obamas were ridiculed in such a way on a liberal blog in the UK it would upset us. Just my opinion.

Hey Bill, I responded to your comment down thread. I’ve made comments about Mrs. Cameron’s style and I don’t apologize for it, because it was an honest response. Just because I didn’t like her dress, doesn’t mean I don’t like her or respect her position as “first lady” of the UK. I like Hillary but absolutely deplore her sense of style and if I said it once, I’ll say it a million more times. Fortunately, style doesn’t make the man—er—-woman and I’ll continue to support and appreciate Hillary in her job as SOS for as long as she has it. And I’ll continue to appreciate what she’s done for women across the world, long after she’s left us. But if and when I see her in another of her series of horrible outfits, I’m still gonna say “Yuck.”

Lisa, I am not asking you are anyone else to apologize. I simply do not understand why “our” guests are ridiculed for something as insignificant as their clothing or hot dog eating techniques. I have friends in the UK who follow TOD. Though they are Labour Party supporters I doubt if they appreciate catty comments about their leader and his wife. Again, just my opinion.

I agree Bill. I was excited to see the Camerons come to the U.S. and to the White House and I would like to see them treated with deference, courtesy and respect. And I liked Mrs. Cameron’s dress – is it as chic as the First Lady’s – no, but it is different and suits her. I don’t know what her style is but I am more her type I guess and I just saw the Laura Ashley look. And as for eating a hot dog, there is no graceful way to eat one and besides these pictures are nothing in comparison with the Bachmann’s, et al. at the fair in Iowa, yuk!

I think it was the loveliest of parties last night – like a fairy tale. I love the pictures. I loved the dresses, and I loved the diversity of people who were invited. Again, thanks for the pictures; I cannot stop looking at them (yes, especially Clooney, what can I say?)

Well Bill, let’s agree to disagree. We’re both entitled to our own opinions and it just so happens they differ on the issue of what constitutes ridicule in the case of the Camerons. It was nice having them here and I hope they enjoyed their state visit. They were very gracious to PBO and Miche last year and we appreciate it. Can’t wait for Miche to go to London for the Olympics.

You and me both, Bill. But it goes with the job. Both couples are subject to criticism whether maliciously intended or not, whether justly or unjustly deserved. That’s a fact. Look, I’ll be in the same boat as you when they start in on Miche and I’ll be slinging crap right back at them. Still, my opinion on her dress remains the same.

Yes, Labour makes catty comments about their PM but he is theirs. We have so many cultural and political problems of our own they may not understand catty comments about their leader.who was such a gracious guest. At one time there was an unwritten rule that criticism stopped at the borders, no longer. I suppose personal attacks seem so prevalent in our culture and especially in our politics that I hated to see it directed towards the Camerons in what appeared to be such a wonderful and perfect state visit. Again, just my opinion.

I just don’t see how some photos of Cameron eating a hot-dog, with funny captions, amounts to a personal attack? And most British Labour supporters I know would probably chuckle. But, again, we’ll agree to disagree.

We’ll have to agree to disagree Bill! I don’t see it as ridicule at all, just a bit of fun. PBO is similarly teased in a harmless way all the time (well, to me its harmless), it’s all just a little light relief.

I’ve a lot of respect for some of Cameron’s positions, epecially on gay rights, and he was outstanding a while back on Northern Ireland when he apologised on behalf of Britain for British troops murdering civilians on ‘Bloody Sunday’ years ago. That was statesmanlike. I wouldn’t agree, though, that he’s supportive of the NHS, he might talk the talk but like every Tory he’s out to weaken it,

Of course it’s not his fault he’s ‘posh’, plenty of ‘posh’ leaders have been friends of the working man/woman, but, like Romney, his privileged background means he’s always been pretty removed from the real world, and as his Republican-like economic policies show, he’s not making much effort to ‘connect’.

I might be wrong but I have not seen to much criticism of the Camerons, not from me at all. And I did take the hot dog stuff as a joke. I hope the Camerons had a lovely time, it was Mrs. Cameron first trip over here.

I appreciate what you are saying as I was a little uncomfortable with all the commentary on Mrs.Cameron because I know if you go to other sites, people say a lot of unkind things about Mrs. O’s fashion. (Btw, I thought Mrs. Cameron looked lovely.) I am so happy that the Obama’s seem to have such a wonderful relationship with the Camerons who despite the differences they might have in politics and background, they find a common ground.

No, edwina I didn’t say anything about Mrs. Cameron, because I know that people dress the way they want too, the way they feel comfortable, and that is what I love about Mrs. Obama, she wears what she likes. I know the right have made ugly comments about what the First Lady wears, but once again I love my First Lady because if “she” likes it she will wear it. Really I think for the most we here respect people. Unless it’s those nasty hateful lying radical right wing haters.

Must See…PASS ALONG! When the Affordable Care Act passed Spike criticized it. After being diagnosed with breast cancer, she applied for PCIP and ten days later she had health insurance. As Spike says: “The very thing I criticized is going to save my life.”

This story is very similar to the woman who is suing the government for the individual mandate. Her husband lost his job or business, they could not pay – as she says “his” medical bills-they are now filing bankrupcy. The woman who is suing should be thankful that she or her husband does not get a life threatening illness because she would not be able to afford any insurance with a pre-existing condition.

Hope she goes into that booth and vote Democratic. The stone that the builder refused became the head of the corner. We never know what’s going to happen to us in life. “The very thing I critized is going to save my life.” Hope she personally spreads the word and remains grateful.

Good morning TOD. Not according to the latest Quinnapiac poll here in Pennsy where Ricky Sicky is in a dead heat 44-45 with the Big Chief. 41% rethug women for RS, 30% rethug men for same. Pennsy is really Pennsyltucky so it is majorly dependant on Philly and Pittsburgh to pull it out for PBO. This on top of the new voter ID law just signed by our repugnant governor, which will be challenged by Democratic legislators to the Justice department.

Bitter cranks, like the one at horrid newsbusters, are stomping their feet and asking, “Is it possible to tun on the TV without being told how wonderful Barack Obama is?” And lamenting that “the commander-in-chief was gushed over like a rock star”. And the familiar phrase about propaganda being “jammed down our throats”. They all love that reference for some reason.

I love this duo. I was watching American Idol last night as I have watched every episode for ten years. I loved the reference about Prez Obama. It was very short and I think was obvious after his clip went viral and everyone was talking about it. I thought about our blog at the time. Didn’t know they would turn it into a duo. I think that is cool! Elise did a great job on the song too.

As far as I know, no one here has ridiculed the Camerons. Yesterday I made a comment about her dress, which while lovely in color, was not the most flattering style for her. I don’t see that as ridicule, I didn’t like the dress. Just like there have been times that I have not been in love with a few of Miche’s fashion choices. We get that it’s not a fashion blog, but it doesn’t mean we can’t comment on what they wear. Also, someone pointed out last night, just because we disagree with what someone does or wears, doesn’t mean we hate them. Seriously, I’m sure the Cameron’s are fine people, however, that doesn’t make them infallible.

[…] the latest Pew poll suggests division within Republican ranks; in a general-election contest between Obama and Romney, 75 percent of Romney supporters in the primary say that they would back the former governor “strongly.” Among Santorum supporters, that number drops to 55 percent. On the other end, in the unlikely event of an Obama-Santorum match-up, the former Pennsylvania senator could count on strong support from 83 percent of followers, while only 47 percent of Romney supporters say that they would strongly back Santorum. In fact, 20 percent of Romney supporters say that they would vote for Obama if Santorum is the nominee.

GLARING enthusiasm gap that the MSM won’t talk about: 73% of Obama’s supporters are excited about HIM – regardless of who the GOP nominee is. Only 40% of Romney’s supporters are excited about him. 54% are more concerned with blocking Obama (AKA RAYCISUM). A 33-point enthusiasm GAP.

54% of romney vote is against obama, 40% for romney. 73% of obama vote is for obama, only 23% against romney http://t.co/MeyO4Vcs kerry 2!

And they tried to make the opposite case as an excuse for those Repub-over-represented misleading polls recently. ABC news tried to say that AAs weren’t going to vote this time—–ha!—-and that the enthusiasm was all on the Repub side, that they’re more interested in defeating Obama than Dems are interested in voting for him. Nice try, media-driven polls.

I think they emphasized “only” because they were comparing the 23% with the 73% who were FOR Obama. What they are basically saying is that Obama is generating enough enthusiasm among his supporters that for 73% of them, it really doesn’t matter who is on the GOP side – they LOVE their guy. He’s not just the lesser of two evils as Romney is for the GOP voters.

I think we’re both correct. We must take into account the source, which is Fox. If Fox used the “only” then they are trying to save face. If the twitterer used it, then yes, there are substantially less voters who are not jazzed about PBO.

CNBC and the Bloomberg Channel are becoming my favorites. I watched CNBC this morning the host I love (can’t think of his name) spoiled that the next person on the show had a track record of predicting the financial problems we had in 2008 and the turn around at the end of 2011. When he came on they introduced him, Ian Shepherdson, then proceeded to grill him on his predictions for this year. He was very positive on our growth, 3% for 2012, the unemployment situation looked good, the deficit was not going to be a problem and only if oil was at 150.00 a barrel would it effect the economy. They had that right-wing Larry Kudlow on to, he couldn’t do anything but listen. I was very encouraged with what he said and this was before the weekly jobless report.

ARIZONA MAKES ANOTHER ATTEMPT AT GOVERNMENT BIRTHERISM | Without saying as much, Arizona officials are working on yet another birther bill. This is the latest of several attempts by the state to try to prove the myth that Obama is not an American citizen. This time, an Arizona legislative committee is pushing a measure that would require presidential candidates to fill out an eligibility form before they can be put on Arizona’s ballot. The state’s Secretary of State Ken Bennett is behind the measure, whose spokesperson said, “There has been a lot of media attention devoted to this, so we wanted to make sure there is a standardized form.” The media devoted to birtherism has mostly arisen because of the endless attempts by Arizona Sherriff Joe Arpaio to prove that the President is not a citizen. Arpaio, who was a strong advocate for Arizona’s “show-us-your-papers” anti-immigration bill, has been planning to try to keep Obama off the 2012 ballot for nearly a year.

I actually gave this issue 5 minutes more of my life than I should have and couldn’t for the life of me figure out what Arpaio was trying to say. Is the birth certificate a ‘fake’ because a computer generated a copy of it? Is it a fake because the copy was printed on paper bought in 2011? Did the ‘posse’ not know that NO ONE ANYWHERE has access to the actual, original document — it’s ALWAYS a copy?

His ‘posse’ reminded me of the Psych episode with a lot of old detectives bumbling around. Except the writing was much more snappy and entertaining.